Chapter 24

In a stone room illuminated by candlelight, Nelson sat in a chair, his gaze fixed intently on the large map of the territory spread out on his desk. Across the desk from Nelson, his wife Zirconia stood, her left hand resting on the desk and her right hand holding a piece of parchment, reading through it.

Zirconia was dressed in a loose tunic of a light pink color, while Nelson wore a patterned shirt with a stiff collar, fine trousers, and a light brown mantle, ready to receive visitors at any time.

This was Nelson's office, the same room where he had received Isaac's report on the village of Gricia a few days ago. It was past noon, and the sun was blazing outside, but the room had no windows, so no sunlight entered. At the corner of the desk, several sheets of recent information about the territory and the movements of other countries, which Zirconia had just pulled from a shelf, were spread out.

"The completion rate of the northern wall is about 60%. The western and eastern walls are at 40%, and the southern wall is barely 30% complete."

Zirconia placed the parchment she was holding on top of the other documents at the corner of the desk.

"All the walls will be completed just before the armistice treaty expires," Nelson muttered, and Zirconia nodded in agreement.

"Due to the influx of immigrants from other territories, the population of our territory increases by several thousand every year. From a labor perspective, I think we can complete the walls in time. However, this is contingent on the continued food aid from the western Gregorn territory and the southern Fries territory, as well as the tax exemptions and subsidies from the royal family."

"Will they continue?"

Nelson raised his head from the map and looked up at Zirconia, who stood in front of him. Receiving Nelson's gaze, Zirconia pulled out a few sheets from the stack of documents on the edge of the desk and laid them in front of Nelson.

"The amount of aid from the Fries territory has increased slightly, but the aid from the Gregorn territory has dropped sharply."

Nelson looked at the documents, and as Zirconia had explained, the amount of food aid from the Gregorn territory had indeed decreased sharply. The documents also noted the reason for the decrease in aid, indicating that a famine had occurred in the Gregorn territory as well.

"Lord Dias must be having a hard time... This means we might have to divert the labor force from construction to food production..."

Since the armistice treaty with Barbeau was signed, Nelson's territory has prioritized the construction of fortresses near the border with Barbeau and the building of defensive walls surrounding Isteria over internal affairs such as land reclamation. Until last year, things had been going relatively smoothly, but this year, a large-scale famine caused by drought has led to a food shortage in the territory, and for the past few months, the territory has been receiving food aid from other territories by royal decree. Prior to that, the increasing population's food needs were being met with free food from other territories, but due to the unprecedented scale of the famine, this was no longer sufficient. Moreover, with the reduction in aid from the neighboring Gregorn territory, Nelson had to decide whether to change the initial policy of prioritizing defensive construction.

"Yes... But, we must not withdraw the personnel assigned to the border fortresses. Without the fortresses, we cannot stop Barbeau's large army. Moreover, we need at least two more fortresses in addition to the ones we are building. If we don't allocate more personnel, we might face hell in four years."

Nelson, who had been groaning as he read the documents, sighed deeply after hearing Zirconia's words.

"Your advice is well-taken, but if we do that, the territory will turn into a famine hell before the war with Barbeau resumes. We are severely short of food. Thousands of people from other territories will continue to enter next year, and if we can't be self-sufficient, we will be in trouble. Besides, there is a possibility that we can achieve peace before the armistice treaty expires."

"Can we increase the amount of food imports from Clayrats?"

"I have done the calculations. Even if we increase the production of timber, copper, and tin and export them to import a large amount of food, in the medium to long term, we will face a temporary shortage of materials needed within the territory. Moreover, if we buy food just to get through the current situation, another drought like this one will be disastrous. If we cut down the trees in the forest indiscriminately, it will be impossible to recover during the rainy season. I understand your point, but if we don't have food when the war resumes, it will be a different story. I hope you can understand."

Zirconia closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then let out a small sigh and opened her eyes again.

"The consequences of prioritizing military preparedness over internal affairs have come back to haunt us... It's my responsibility."

After the armistice treaty with Barbeau was signed, the Ister territory prioritized military preparedness, such as building defensive bases and increasing military strength, over internal affairs. Nelson wanted to prioritize food production and support the recovery of various regions, but his wife Zirconia strongly advocated for prioritizing military preparedness. Naturally, Nelson and other key figures in the Ister territory, except for some military personnel, opposed this. However, Zirconia did not budge from her stance. Eventually, after Zirconia persistently explained the balance of power with Barbeau, the current size of the military, and the dangers if the military size remained the same at the end of the armistice treaty, most of the initially opposing figures, including Nelson, reluctantly agreed. As a result, the budget for military-related matters was significantly increased, but Zirconia still believed it was insufficient.

"No, your stance was justified. Moreover, famines have occurred several times in the past, but this one is the worst. It seems that a famine like this one occurred several hundred years ago. This was unpredictable."

Every year, minor droughts and floods often occurred in the country of Arcadia, but a large-scale famine like this one had not occurred in several hundred years. If internal affairs had been prioritized, the situation might have been slightly better, but significant damage would still have occurred in various regions.

"Yes... Before we regret, we need to take some measures. Besides, with a famine this severe, perhaps Lord Gracior will appear and help us, as the legend says."

Zirconia said this with a slight hint of humor, and Nelson leaned back in his chair and chuckled.

"Hey, in that story, the lord is killed by the peasants. Spare me that."

Zirconia chuckled and pulled out a document about Barbeau from the stack of documents on the edge of the desk.

"Don't worry. Unlike the legend, the Ister family has not done anything to make the peasants resent them. Rather, can you look at this?"

Nelson took the document and, after reading it, frowned and groaned softly.

"They have made peace with some of the barbarian tribes... This is bad. Very bad."

The barbarians are a collective term for the tribes living in the northern part of the Barbeau territory. These tribes act only as a group and frequently engage in territorial disputes, so the concept of a country is almost non-existent. The repercussions of these territorial disputes have often spilled over into Barbeau, with the tribes seeking survival in Barbeau's territory and attacking. For decades, Barbeau has been plagued by these attacks. However, it seems that Barbeau has recently succeeded in making peace with some of the tribes.

"Yes, while the pressure from the north is reduced, they will likely invade the southern countries, including Arcadia, all at once. Unlike the last war, Barbeau will not have to fight on two fronts, so the next war will be very difficult for us."

"If they subdue us, the south is the sea. Barbeau will not have to worry about their rear and can focus on the continent. Understood. The personnel assigned to the border fortresses will remain as is. We will try to allocate as many personnel as possible to the construction of other fortresses. However, the construction of the city walls will be suspended, and the personnel will be redirected to food production. I will talk to the civil officials, and you can inform the military officials."

Hearing this, Zirconia smiled.

"Thank you. With the fortresses, we won't lose so easily. Leave the rest to me."

Zirconia said this, bent down, and kissed Nelson. In response, Nelson chuckled.

"Really, it's hard to tell who is the shield of Arcadia. Perhaps you should be called that?"

"What are you talking about? I can't handle internal affairs, military matters, and diplomacy all at once. You can't protect the country with just the military. That nickname belongs to you."

Zirconia said this, smiled at Nelson again, and left the room. Nelson watched the door where Zirconia had left for a moment, took a deep breath to gather his resolve, and began to draft instructions for his subordinates.

---

While Nelson and Zirconia were busy with their respective tasks, Ichiro was crouched in the garden of the manor with Valletta, fertilizing the peppermint seedlings in the pots. Beside them, a paper bag containing empty pots and herb seed packets that Ichiro had brought from Japan was placed.

"The scent is so good even before drying. It's different from the herbal tea I drank yesterday; it feels refreshing."

Valletta was using a garden shovel to add fertilizer to the peppermint pot, sniffing the unique scent.

"You can use it as tea even without drying it. Freshly picked and brewed, it's incredibly delicious."

To confirm the changes in the effectiveness of the fertilizer, Ichiro gave fertilizer only to the peppermint among the two types of herbs he had bought, leaving the lemongrass as is. This way, he could compare their growth.

After confirming that Valletta had finished fertilizing the peppermint, Ichiro took out an empty pot and a herb seed packet from the paper bag beside him.

"Shall we plant the seeds next?"

"I'll add the soil."

While a simple experiment to observe growth could have been done with just the seedlings, since Ichiro had bought a lot of seeds, he decided to grow them as well. Since there were many types of seeds, he gave fertilizer to the pots and planted the seeds directly in the ground without fertilizer. If the seeds planted in the ground multiplied in large numbers, he could create a flower bed with boards or something to prevent them from spreading too much. If they grew, he could share them with the villagers, and Ichiro would be happy if they grew explosively.

"Hmm, there are few seeds that can be planted in summer. Maybe basil and arugula."

Ichiro sorted the seed packets that could be planted by looking at the planting schedule chart on the herb seed packets. Most seeds were best planted in April to May or September to October, and there were few that could be planted in August.

"Mr. Kazura, this paper says that rosemary and lemon balm can be planted in the shade during the summer."

As Ichiro was about to